Editing Pontifex maximus (section)

== Catholic Church use of the title ==
{{see also|Pontiff#Catholicism}}In the 15th century, when the [[Renaissance]] drove new interest in ancient Rome, ''pontifex maximus'' became a regular title of honour for Popes.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press 2005 {{ISBN|978-0-19-280290-3}}), article ''Pontifex Maximus''</ref> After the [[Fall of the Eastern Roman Empire]] with the [[Fall of Constantinople]] to the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the death of the final [[Roman emperor]] [[Constantine XI]] in 1453, ''pontifex maximus'' became part of the [[papacy]]'s official titulature of the Bishop of Rome.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Nicholson|first1=Oliver|title=Pontifex Maximus|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-3782|work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|year=2018|editor-last=Nicholson|editor-first=Oliver|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-866277-8|access-date=2020-11-01|last2=Gwynn|first2=David}}</ref> The name given to the book containing the liturgical rites to be performed by any bishop, the ''[[Roman Pontifical]]'', and to the form of liturgy known as [[Pontifical High Mass]] witness to the continued use of ''pontifex'' to refer to bishops in general.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

[[Tertullian]] ({{Circa|155|220 AD}}), in his work "De Pudicitia" (On Modesty), criticized [[Pope Callixtus I]] for allowing repentant adulterers and fornicators back into the Church, even if they were repeat offenders, sarcastically referring to him as "Pontifex Maximus."<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Pope |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12260a.htm |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=CHURCH FATHERS: On Modesty (Tertullian) |url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0407.htm#:~:text= |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>
{{Quote|text=The Pontifex Maximus — that is, the bishop of bishops — issues an edict: "I remit, to such as have discharged (the requirements of) repentance, the sins both of adultery and of fornication." O edict, on which cannot be inscribed, Good deed!|author=Tertullian|title=On Modesty|source=Chapter I}}
While the title ''pontifex maximus'' has for some centuries been used in inscriptions referring to the Popes, it has never been included in the official list of [[papal titles]] published in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]''. The official list of titles of the Pope given in the {{lang|it|[[Annuario Pontificio]]}} includes "Supreme Pontiff of the whole Church" (in Latin, {{lang|la|Summus Pontifex Ecclesiae Universalis}}) as the fourth title, the first being "Bishop of Rome." The title ''pontifex maximus'' appears in inscriptions on buildings and on coins and medallions.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

In December 2012, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] adopted ''@pontifex'' as his [[Twitter|X (formerly known as Twitter)]] [[Pseudonym|handle]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope joins tweeting masses with Pontifex handle |author=<!-- Post Staff Report --> |url=https://nypost.com/2012/12/03/pope-joins-tweeting-masses-with-pontifex-handle/ |newspaper=New York Post |date=December 3, 2012 |access-date=December 3, 2012}}</ref> prompting users to pose questions with the ''#askpontifex'' [[hashtag]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Boorstein|first=Michelle|date=2012-12-04|title=Ask the pope @pontifex: With Twitter account, Benedict XVI just a tweet away|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ask-the-pope-atpontifex-with-twitter-account-benedict-xvi-just-a-tweet-away/2012/12/04/4b91f1f4-3e4c-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_story.html|access-date=2023-02-17|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>[http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-benedict-to-launch-new-twitter-account Pope Benedict to launch new Twitter account], [[Vatican Radio]], December 3, 2012.</ref> This has been maintained by his successors [[Pope Francis]], and [[Pope Leo XIV]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Barone|first1=Camillo|last2=Grosso|first2=John|url=https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/pope-leo-xiv-staying-social-media|title=Pope Leo XIV is staying on social media|website=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|date=May 13, 2025 |access-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref>